It's been a strange, tense year, and anxiety about war, terrorism and George W. Bush inevitably seeped into songwriters' minds and music. But so did the downloading debate, hot dogs, masturbation and belly dancing.
Here are my favourite quotes of 2004:
"I want to write a record about sleep. I want it to be on the edge of sleep -- on the edge of death, in a way. That's what I'm interested in, sleepiness. It's such a weird state, right before you're falling asleep."
-- Jeremy Greenspan, Junior Boys
"I always knew something was good if I felt terribly embarrassed by it. By revealing something that you're not sure about yourself, you're taking a chance. And when you're on that edge, people feel it."
-- Deborah Harry, Blondie
"I'm not going to be rapping in my 30s. You can be old and sing, but rapping, I don't know. I don't want to do it. I'd rather be helping other people."
-- Chingy
"Music isn't special anymore. Our craft belongs to an industry that has made it completely disposable. The first people to suffer were the artists and listeners. Now the industry is suffering, and I think they deserve to, a bit."
-- Tom Wilson, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings
"When North came out, people said, 'Where's the 911 song?'
Well, where does it say in my contract that I have to do that? Isn't that a facile thing to say, that because you're a songwriter you should comment? It's a huge presumption. Wait until some
time has gone by, and then maybe it's time to say something."
-- Elvis Costello
"I haven't played anywhere in Canada in years. I had the best hot dog in my life from a little stand in Toronto -- isn't that funny?"
-- Nancy Sinatra
"I always joke that I'm a Parisian, and my band can't stop laughing. I told my mom that I found the only place where a Calgary girl can be exotic."
-- Feist
"Someone complained to Starbucks head office about the song Woody. They wanted them to stop playing it in the stores because it was obviously about the artist masturbating in his backyard with his best friend. Luckily, the Starbucks people thought it was funny."
-- Hayden on a song about his cat
"The Canadian Recording Industry Association is the middleman to the middleman. Leeches like that have nothing to do but pimp off the record industry. What is popular music? It's an exchange between the bands that make the music and the fans of music. You put someone in the middle of that, like a major label, and it causes problems."
-- Danko Jones
"We're like the belly-dance backup band at the Arabian restaurant in Whitby. That's kind of where we're at."
-- Andrew Whiteman,
the Apostle Of Hustle
"I'm notorious for not answering my phone. I come from a long line of people who don't answer the phone. My dad would stand in a room with the phone ringing and keep talking. People would say, 'The phone is ringing,' and he'd say, 'The phone is for my convenience. They'll call back.' "
-- Chris Isaak
"I've always written sweet, girly love songs -- just honest, straight-ahead lyrics that talk about things in my life. And my life is pretty pleasant."
-- Sebastien Grainger,
Death From Above 1979
"The great thing about music is that even if nobody cares about what you're doing, they can't stop you from doing it. My problem with acting is the waiting, and how little choice you have. And it's a hard adjustment to come to a job where they don't give you a case of beer before you start working."
-- Actor/Stars singer Torquil Campbell
"That's why God invented the electric guitar -- so you can say things you can't say with your voice. It sounds pretentious, but mostly we just wanted to rock. It's good for you."
-- Jeff Tweedy, Wilco
